Environmentalist group protests Bank of America

[Raintree21]

Charlotte.com had some pretty decent coverage of it yesterday, not sure about print.

[hueion39]

The O and local media only focused on the traffic obstruction aspect of the protest and not the valid environmental concerns behind it.

[Andyc545]

You can attribute that to the idiotic method by which the organization chose to protest.

[Justadude]

You can attribute that to the idiotic method by which the organization chose to protest.

[Raintree21]

The fact that they didn't put anyone in danger aside from themselves leviates my frowning of the situation.

[karanas_mangi]

Actually, they put hundreds of people's lives in danger. Countless emergency responders had to risk their lives to retrieve these protesters and in the process of responding put hundreds of citizens at risk because these 4 people chose to break the law.

[Windsurfer]

Actually, they put hundreds of people's lives in danger. Countless emergency responders had to risk their lives to retrieve these protesters and in the process of responding put hundreds of citizens at risk because these 4 people chose to break the law.

[Mobuchu]

^^^ And somewhat ironic that they protested on a crane site that is building a LEED certified tower...

[elvigy]

Actually, they put hundreds of people's lives in danger. Countless emergency responders had to risk their lives to retrieve these protesters and in the process of responding put hundreds of citizens at risk because these 4 people chose to break the law.

[hueion39]

Hyperbole much? But really, if getting four people off a crane was such a serious strain on our emergency response teams, then we need to REALLY beef them up. If they can't handle four people without abandoning "hundreds of people", as you say, what chance do any of us have if there is a real terrorist attack.

[hueion39]

Did this banner hang in front of your office window or something? You seem to have taken a fairly harmless protest very personally.

[Raintree21]

You guys have no idea what is involved in an emergency response to a simple 911 call, let alone one that involves a high angle rescue off of a multi-story crane. Did this incident put a strain on our system, not really. We have multiple layers of redundancy and other units could have picked up the slack. Did it delay the emergency response to other 911 calls in the area for people that actually needed legitimate help? Probably so, since the emergency vehicles were taken out of service from their primary response areas and trucks from other areas would have had to pick up the uncovered areas in addition to their own. Mutiple apparatus are assigned to a rescue call for the safety of the responders and the ones that performed the stunt. You can't just assign one rescuer to each "victim," it takes around 3 or more depending on the situation in addition to multiple support staff. For example, at a house fire, most every fire department has a rule of 2 in and 2 out (for every 2 people inside the house fighting fire, there must be 2 people on the outside standing by to help them if they run into trouble). Additionally, every vehicle and pedestrian that was passed while they were enroute to the call was put at risk. Every person that was distracted by the stunt and the flashing red lights while driving instead of concentrating on the road put others at risk. It's bad enough that we put our lives on the line responding to people who feel the need to call 911 because they stubbed their toe and insist it's their right to go the hospital by ambulance while someone's grandmother is seriously ill and has to wait for the next available ambulance and then we have to deal with a publicity stunt like this.

[Commoner]

RAN and many others believe that these types of tactics are worth the risk to themselves and others: the actions of BOA endanger the lives of countless more people.

[Commoner]

Did this banner hang in front of your office window or something? You seem to have taken a fairly harmless protest very personally.

[Windsurfer]

It happened to take place right outside my window, but (more importantly) it screwed up morning rush hour traffic patters, access to my parking deck, and (as a generally law-abiding and private property rights-respecting citizen) it ticked me off.

[ontap]

RAN and many others believe that these types of tactics are worth the risk to themselves and others: the actions of BOA endanger the lives of countless more people.

[elvigy]

You guys have no idea what is involved in an emergency response to a simple 911 call, let alone one that involves a high angle rescue off of a multi-story crane. Did this incident put a strain on our system, not really. We have multiple layers of redundancy and other units could have picked up the slack. Did it delay the emergency response to other 911 calls in the area for people that actually needed legitimate help? Probably so...

[Commoner]

And, yes there are many efforts to change the laws~legally.

[elvigy]

I think the point being missed is that what Bank of America is doing...ie financing... isn't illegal. It may be immoral depending on your perspective, but not illegal. On the other hand, what the protestors did was not only illegal but they recklessly endangered the lives of the emergency responders. Not cool.

IMO, the stunt overshadowed the cause.

[swh1972]

Let's call this what it is. RAN is trying to get publicity for their cause, so they went after the highest profile target associated with coal mining, not in an attempt to have the bank change their lending practices, but to get more people to go to their website, and donate money to their cause.

[stadtguy]

I'm sure the union members who fought for decent wages and 40-hour work weeks were concerned about the legality of their actions and how emergency responders might be affected by their actions.

Sometimes you have to take risks to draw attention to things that most folks are unaware of or apathetic about in order to push for change. We have become such a septic society these days. College students need to be constantly reminded about the dangers of drinking and drugs. Protesters need to get proper approval to talk in the free speech zone.

Maybe the reckless protesters should be prescribed prozac to relax. G-dam this is a conservative town! From my perspective, we should have more people out protesting about the war, the healthcare *system*, property flippers, subprime lenders, and Mulvaney Homes. Of course, that wouldn't fit Charlotte's *image" as a banking town. Noooo, can't do that. Somebody give me a bucket...

[ontap]

So legality trumps morality? If so, then we're doomed as a nation, imho. It goes to an old example of a mother stealing bread to feed her starving children. Yes, it's illegal, but the cause is just and most people would look the other way I think (though perhaps you and others here wouldn't).

[Windsurfer]

Actually I wouldn't turn the other way. If I was that concerned about the welfare of the child, I would buy her bread or put her in touch with welfare providers. Stealing is wrong. Even more immoral is teaching your children to steal. The end does not justify the means. It's black and white.

[sfmartin]

Actually I wouldn't turn the other way. If I was that concerned about the welfare of the child, I would buy her bread or put her in touch with welfare providers. Stealing is wrong. Even more immoral is teaching your children to steal. The end does not justify the means. It's black and white.

[Justadude]

I can't speak for anyone else, but it was surprising to see the amount of support/endorsement they received on this forum. I (and maybe Hef, too) began commenting because I thought I might bring a bit of mainstream sentiment to the table (hence the name).